Brewing Master

Question:

we manufactured equipment for all three breweries (Agassiz, Fort Garry and Two Rivers) All 3 seem to be quite well due to the large distance from any other craftbrewery market. As in Ontario is too far for smaller micros to ship beer to them and the only other big market is the west coast which is even farther. The city has a general population of @800,000 which is way more than the city we’re in (Victoria) and we have two micros and 4 brewpubs!! Not to mention all the micros shipping beer here from Vancouver. Hope I was of some help Chet Cowan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last night, I watched a segment on the CBC program Venture, about the difficulties being experienced by a micro in the Winnipeg area called Agassiz Brewing. Seemed to me they had very ambitious plans to initially put three different and distinct brews on the market, a pilsener, an ale and a hefeweizen. There was also mention that they were in a bit of a race with two other groups in the same area, Fort Garry and Two Rivers, as to which one would be the first with product on the market. Going by the time frame of the article and the way it left one hanging with regard to the final outcome, I assume it was either (a) a re-run or, (b) taped much earlier in the year. Given the fact that several posters have bemoaned the lack of decent beer in this area of the country, I have several questions. Did Agassiz, or either of the others for that matter, manage to get product out to the beer drinking public? If so, how was the quality? Any other info on the beer scene in this area for me to file in the "nice to know beer & brewing stuff" section of my memory bank. Cheers, Ross. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com * The Internet’s Discussion Network * *  The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!   *

– Specific Mechanical Systems Ltd. Manufacturers of fine brewing systems 6848 Kirkpatrick Cres. Victoria, BC, Canada, V8M 1Z9 ph. 250-652-2111 fax 250-652-6010 web: www.specific.net

Response:

Last night, I watched a segment on the CBC program Venture, about the difficulties being experienced by a micro in the Winnipeg area called Agassiz Brewing. Seemed to me they had very ambitious plans to initially put three different and distinct brews on the market, a pilsener, an ale and a hefeweizen. There was also mention that they were in a bit of a race with two other groups in the same area, Fort Garry and Two Rivers, as to which one would be the first with product on the market. Going by the time frame of the article and the way it left one hanging with regard to the final outcome, I assume it was either (a) a re-run or, (b) taped much earlier in the year. Given the fact that several posters have bemoaned the lack of decent beer in this area of the country, I have several questions. Did Agassiz, or either of the others for that matter, manage to get product out to the beer drinking public? If so, how was the quality? Any other info on the beer scene in this area for me to file in the "nice to know beer & brewing stuff" section of my memory bank. Cheers, Ross. * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com * The Internet’s Discussion Network * *  The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!   *

Response:

All three of the companies you mention have their products on the MLCC shelves. I haven’t tried Two Rivers, nor will I, because it is supposedly just a Molson megabrew clone that he expects people to buy because it is locally made. I don’t personally care for the Agassiz products, at least the bottled versions I’ve tried. The hefeweizen was the most disappointing. Too bitter and lacking in esters, nothing like a good German one. I made a better one with a BrewHouse kit and a pack of 3068. The pilsner and cream ale are OK, but neither seemed to have enough of an interesting character to make me want to buy them on a regular basis. I like Fort Garry’s products the most, although I prefer the draft versions. Their dark ale is my favorite, and their pilsner is a nice easy drinking lager. Their pale ale could use more hop character, but I expect they didn’t want to scare off the masses. I don’t think any of these companies has really done anything daring that would risk their market success. The beers are all pretty mainstream (except for that dreadful hefeweizen) and should find enough of a market to keep the breweries in business. Brian – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last night, I watched a segment on the CBC program Venture, about the difficulties being experienced by a micro in the Winnipeg area called Agassiz Brewing.

Response:

: Last night, I watched a segment on the CBC program Venture, about the : difficulties being experienced by a micro in the Winnipeg area called : Agassiz Brewing. : Seemed to me they had very ambitious plans to initially put three : different and distinct brews on the market, a pilsener, an ale and a : hefeweizen. : There was also mention that they were in a bit of a race with two : other groups in the same area, Fort Garry and Two Rivers, as to which : one would be the first with product on the market. : Going by the time frame of the article and the way it left one hanging : with regard to the final outcome, I assume it was either (a) a re-run : or, (b) taped much earlier in the year. : Given the fact that several posters have bemoaned the lack of decent : beer in this area of the country, I have several questions. : Did Agassiz, or either of the others for that matter, manage to get : product out to the beer drinking public? Agassiz was present at this year’s Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria earlier this month, so I would assume they’re in full production. : If so, how was the quality? I’m trying to remember right now – I think I tried two of their beers. Unfortunately I didn’t take any kind of notes, and my memory of the fest is just a bit hazy for some reason I recall discussing the brewery and the beers with some friends at the fest because it was the first time we’ve ever had a brewery from the ‘Peg show up. However, my recollection is that while we thought the beers were decent, they didn’t wow us in any particular fashion (unlike Spinnaker’s cask conditioned IPA for example That said, if I’m ever in Winnipeg, I’ll be sure to search them out. Cheers, Bill

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